for responsible interpretation of the Old Testament 5 | Exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures Principles for responsible interpretation of the Old Testament Enrichment Version The Enrichment Version is designed for those who wish to explore principles that lead to honorable procedures for comprehending and applying the Old Testament without the intention of pursuing either a certificate or a degree. This syllabus is identical to the one used by credit and degree-track students, except for deletion of Internet articles, videos, listings of secondary resources, exams, and writing assignments. There is nothing to submit for professorial review or grading. Therefore, the Enrichment syllabus is available for downloading without cost. Interested parties may glean a substantial knowledge, comprehension, and understanding of Old Testament exegesis through this guide. The primary task of the course is to determine how select texts of scripture should be studied to understand the author’s original intent and modern application. It is assumed that the student has a working knowledge of the nature and content of the Old Testament. The course is organized in five modules. These modules are designed to help develop a framework for personal investigation into various parts of the Old Testament. The modules are (1) Interpreting Old Testament Literature, (2) Narrative and History, (3) Law, (4) Prophetic Announcements, and (5) Lament, Praise, and Wisdom. Objectives • Formulate the mechanics of biblical interpretation. • Apply rules of interpretation to biblical literature. • Recognize, evaluate, and use rules of interpretation in various literary genre. Course Learning Outcomes At the end of the course, the student will be able to 1. Relate key factors in interpreting Old Testament literature 2. Analyze the role of literary genre in interpreting the Bible 3. Apply principles of interpretation to biblical passages A Letter of Introduction By now, you have undoubtedly taken several courses from NationsUniversity. If you have followed the recommended order, you have been introduced to the story of the Old Testament and have explored its 5 | Exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures Page 1 theological meaning. You are now ready to consider how you can undertake your own independent study of scripture and be reasonably sure you have understood it properly. This course, “Exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures,” promises to offer some constructive guidelines for your future study of the biblical text. Why, you ask, should I need “guidelines”? The answer is rather simple. Guidelines help avoid pitfalls that can lead to wrong interpretation. For example, when interpreting the Psalms, one sees two lines that look almost identical. The first inclination may be to think the author is laying down two separate thoughts. But by understanding something about the feature of parallelism within Hebrew poetry, you are more likely to perceive that the author is using different words to stress a point. Again, one modern approach to prophetic literature may lead to the conclusion that all prophetic literature is predictive in nature. And, one might surmise that predictive prophecy always comes to pass in literary terms. We shall explore the nature of prophetic literature from a biblical perspective. But we need to have some guidelines to keep us on track with interpretation. What you have learned in the past will not be lost in this course. Rather, you will find yourself being much more at home with the biblical text. And you will grow more certain of your footing as an interpreter of the sacred text. The object of higher education is not that we give you all the answers. The object is for you to become an able interpreter of the Word so you can grow in faith and can teach others much more accurately. The study is not exhausting. But it does require dedication. Procedure 1. The syllabus has five modules. Review each module to see the layout of the course. 2. Following your review, begin your work with Module 1. Read the syllabus carefully. Complete the activity. 3. As you come to the end of Module 1, review the material to make sure you have not missed anything. 4. Once you have completed the exam over Module 1, move on to the other modules. Things to Know 1. Terms: apocalyptic, exegesis, genre, hermeneutics, lament, praise, translation, wisdom 2. The task of achieving good translation, exegesis, and hermeneutics—in that order 3. The nature of scripture, covenant, ancient legal legislation, Hebrew poetry, and wisdom (proverbial) literature 4. The goal of interpretation 5. The components of narrative 6. The nature and function of prophecy, including oracles of salvation and announcements of judgment 7. The nature and function of apocalyptic, lament, praise, and wisdom 8. Rules for interpreting apocalyptic, historical narrative, covenant legislation, and proverbial literature 5 | Exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures Page 2 Copyright Policy NationsUniversity®, as a non-profit educational institution, is entitled by law to use materials protected by the U.S. Copyright Act for online education. Any use of those materials outside this environment may violate the law. Exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures One person may pick up a Bible, start reading it, and declare that it does not make sense. Another may read a passage haphazardly and make a personal application that has no resemblance to the inherent meaning of the passage. Still another may shun certain biblical books, because they seem to be boring or fail to suggest relevancy. What do these responses imply? They imply a lack of understanding of the nature of the Hebrew Scriptures. Every person who opens a Bible is an "interpreter." Whether conscious of it or not, when one reads a biblical passage, one draws from it a certain conclusion. That conclusion may be driven by a prejudice against a particular book or the Old Testament as a whole. It may be that one is looking for a piece of information that will prove a point or satisfy a curiosity. Or, it could be that the person is doing some serious investigation. Regardless of the pre-condition that governs the reading, one is more likely to extract the correct interpretation and application if one understands linguistics and follows simple guidelines. Since the modern student was not part of the "original" audience, a biblical text may appear remote. Interpretation may even appear irrelevant. Should one, therefore, conclude that the text is of no benefit to modern people? If the Bible is taken to be God's book, it will have meaning for all persons. Yet, it does not follow that all portions of scripture issue "commands" to all people in all time periods. Assuming the Hebrew Scriptures have relevance, what is biblical interpretation about? The short answer is that interpretation is about knowing God. The value derived from interpreting the Old Testament can be measured in terms of personal spiritual enlightenment. If value to Old Testament study is to result, then it follows that correct interpretation is requisite to application. This course carries the word "exegesis" in its title, for this is where the primary interest lies. "Exegesis" comes from the Greek and means to "draw out." It has become a technical term for comprehending a text within its original setting. In this instance, exegesis is a discipline that draws out the inherent meaning of a particular biblical text. However, to limit the course to strict exegesis would be shortsighted. Consequently, we are obliged to use several terms in our effort to convey the idea of what sometimes appears as a three-phase process: (1) drawing out the meaning inherent within the passage, (2) determining the meaning of that passage, especially in view of its implementations, and (3) application for modern audiences. Because not everyone assigns the same meaning to the terms, we will makes some arbitrary distinctions. As an extension of technical "exegesis," the term "hermeneutics" has come into play to denote the use of methodological principles that extend the basic idea of strict exegesis. In other words, hermeneutics often includes both meaning and application. For analysis sake, we may limit exegesis by the question, "What does the text say?" Hermeneutics then would be concerned with this question: "What is the extended meaning of the text and how is this meaning to be applied?" Other terms may be used in a general sense, such as interpretation and exposition. When used, they simply represent an act of explaining, uncovering, revealing, or displaying. The term application will be used to suggest how the meaning of a passage is to be used. The choice of this term suggests a specific 5 | Exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures Page 3 demand that the meaning of a passage makes. The definition of terms may be straightforward, but stock definitions do not determine interpretation. If one presupposes a literary text (in our case, a biblical text) has an inherent meaning, and comprehending that meaning is essential to proper interpretation, then exegesis plays an essential role. But if one presupposes otherwise, then the importance of exegesis is diminished. Further, if a passage is connected with a desired action, then the full three-phrase process is not achieved until the action is undertaken. You should be aware of three different assumptions that people make about interpreting the Bible. 1. Some assume that the actual intent of the author should govern the understanding of any given biblical text. 2. Others assume that an external force--be that a church, organization, or society--assigns meaning to a given biblical text. 3. Still others assume that the individual reader can give meaning to a biblical text as he/she experiences it. It is conceivable that all three of these can be in agreement--author, tradition, and reader--but more often than not, different assumptions will yield different conclusions.